“Raiven has what it takes!”

Today was a long time in the making. Last week, Slovenia’s broadcaster RTVSLO decided to scrap their selection show “Misija Malmö”, and opt for an internal selection instead.

Given the press conference at the Opera House in Ljubljana, the rumor mill started to turn — could Raiven finally be off to the Eurovision Song Contest?

Those rumors were put to bed today as RTVSLO made it official — Slovenia’s 29th Eurovision participant will be Raiven!

For those not from Slovenia, Raiven is a well known artist in her home country. She describes herself as “a musical alchemist, masterfully fusing the realms of pop and opera.”

Raiven is a trained mezzo-soprano singer, songwriter, and harpist. She competed in Slovenia’s national final EMA in 2016, 2017, and 2019 – placing 2nd, 3rd, and 2nd respectively. It seems it was only a matter of time until she got her moment on the Eurovision stage.

Our Jan was at today’s press conference in Ljubljana and spoke with Raiven about being chosen to fly Slovenia’s flag in Malmö:

“I’m very surprised, very excited – scared – I feel a lot of emotions! [The fans] knew before I did! Let’s be clear! The rumors started very early, but I did not know until a week ago. ‘Veronika‘ is inspired by the story of Veronika Deseniška who was the first woman to be tried as a witch in Slovenia, and I think her story is very applicable today.”

– Raiven

Slovenia’s Head of Delegation at Eurovision, Maša Kljun, was also on hand to talk about what this announcement means for Slovenia:

“We are very honored and pleased that Raiven is going to represent us. We came to this decision by having an international jury and she got the most points, she got points from every member of the jury and I personally believe that it’s not only the song but also the person that represents us and Raiven has what it takes.”

– Maša Kljun, Slovenia’s Head of Delegation

Even Bojan from Joker Out was on hand to reflect on the year the band had, and to ceremoniously pass the torch to Raiven and wish her well in Malmö:

“Without Eurovision, this year would be a lot different. It’s been the most fun and the most hectic year of our lives. “

– Bojan Cvjetićanin

Slovenia first took part at Eurovision in 1993 and has taken part in a Grand Final 16 times. Malmö 2024 will mark the country’s 29th participation. Slovenia’s best results came in 1995 and 2001 when they got 7th place.

Raiven will try and best that in May. What do you think of her chances? Let us know in the comments below. Until we get her Eurovision song release, check out her latest single, Ikona.